Task sequence: <task sequence name> has failed with the error code (0×00000032). For more information, contact your system administrator or helpdesk operator.

As it turns out at the end of my application deployment phase of the task sequence I had a restart listed, however instead of being set to ‘The currently installed default operating system’ I had it set to ‘The boot image assigned to this task sequence’.

Setting this correctly to ‘The currently installed default operating system’ resolved the problem and I was back on my merry way to creating an updated OS deployment image.

The first thing that will strike you about any thin client is how small (in physical dimensions) they are and the 5818v is no exception. In the past this small size meant poor hardware specifications; however, this time is long behind us.

The 5818v comes with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a Intel Atom D2550 dual core CPU, 16GB of local storage (the SSD like disk on memory), 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet and Intel GMA 3650 graphics (it won’t run Crysis but is ideal for Flash video).

In true keeping with the idea of thin computing (frugal on power, waste and dimensions) the packing for the 5818v is small and includes the power adapter, cable and a mouse making for quick and easy deployments. You also get a stand and DVI-VGA adapter included in the box.

As far as licencing goes the Windows OEM sticker is included on the DOM meaning no sticky labels to peel off the case.

A hidden surprise comes in the concealed secure USB port which can be used to integrate wireless adapters (Wi-Fi/keyboard + mouse adapters) or USB memory sticks (could be used for BitLocker drive encryption).

For more take a look at the screenshot sequence below…

One of the great features of the 10ZiG 5818v is the WE8 operating system. Based upon Windows 8 this thin client includes the same software that makes full Windows 8 PCs fast most notably kernel hibernation. The premise goes that when you click Shutdown on your PC the core components of Windows are hibernated and saved to a single file which is very fast to read.

In testing the 5818v took a little over 41 seconds to start up without kernel hibernation turned on, with it turned on boot time to a usable PC was just over 21 seconds that’s a 2x improvement just by turning on a software feature!

To see this miracle of software in action for your self watch the above video, to lean more about kernel hibernation visit the Building Windows 8 blog at this link.

hpmsn141.dll has stopped working

when trying to print, although they can click close program and the print goes through fine it is quite an annoyance.

Although more of a workaround I found that the fix in this situation was to turn off a feature called Printer Status Notification (described by HP at this link here). A short guide can be found in the screen shots below.

In this series of posts I’m going to be looking at the all new 10ZiG 5818v Thin Client.

Recently released and coming with Intel Atom D2550 CPU this thin client sets its self apart from others with the introduction of Windows Embedded 8 (WE8).

WE8 is essentially a cut down version of Windows 8 that is focused on devices that have limited storage space and are designed to fill a single role (like digital signage players, connectivity to Remote Desktop Services Farms and connectivity to VDI like Citrix VDI-in-a-Box).

Through this series of posts I’m going to be looking at the hardware of the thin client, the WE8 operating system including the tweaks 10ZiG have made to it as well as the performance of the thin client when connected to VDI sessions.

After unboxing and powering on my first impressions of the 5818v have been very positive particularly around

• UEFI boot with a boot time of around 25s
• The low power consumption
• The array of ports
• The robustness of design

UEFI boot and boot time
UEFI is basically the replacement to BIOS (those lines of white text on a black background that your PC runs through before starting Windows), its much faster than BIOS (under one or two seconds commonly to go to launching Windows) and makes for very fast ‘time to desktop’. First testing shows that this thin client boots in around 25 seconds (with fast boot turned on).

Low power consumption
Thin client computing is all about taking the processing away from the users desktop and putting in a well maintained server room/data centre, one of the key advantages of this model is the lower overall power consumption.

The 5818v with its improved Atom processor works on just 10.4W of power when idle and only pushes as high as 14.3W when under full CPU utilisation. To put that in perspective when on a gym bike going at a medium speed you can kick out about 130W – that would be enough to power at least 9 of these thin clients with no issues!

Array of ports
Dual rear DVI (which can be converted to VGA/HDMI) gives this thin client the flexibility to be used in modern multi monitor setups, add that onto the dual rear and dual front USB ports, 1 gigabit Ethernet port, one PS2 style keyboard port, front audio ports and best of all Kensington lock port and you have one of the most flexible thin clients going.

Best of all the use of WE8 (and so the full set of Windows 8 drivers) on this thin client allows you to use a array of USB devices from Lync IP phones to wireless keyboards/mice (stay tuned for demo).

Robustness of design
The strong case has certainly been designed to keep pace with harsh environments (work shops/classrooms) and to top everything off a 3 year warranty comes as standard (something to factor in when you do a direct fat client/thin client + VDI price comparison).

What is next?
Stay tuned for the next post where I will be taking a closer look at the hardware on the 5818v…

To kick this process off you will need

• A need to update the BIOS – you should only update the BIOS on a PC if a later revision fixes a particular issue you are having (in my case it was a wake on LAN issue)
• The BIOS update files from the Dell Support site – on occasion you may need to perform a staged update process, for example on the Dell Optiplex 390 to go from Revision A01 to A10 you must first update to A02.

The first step of this process requires that you put the BIOS update in as a Package, follow the guide below to see how this is done.

Please note – this guide only applies to the ‘newer’ packaged style of Dell BIOS updates, the steps to identify if you have one of the newer style packages can be seen in the first three screen shots.

Next you need to include the package in the SCCM task sequence, during the process you will need this WMI query (contained within the download to make copy/paste easy)

A few points to note

• You do not want the BIOS update to trigger the restart – (I have never been able to get this to work without causing a error and stopping the task sequence)
• If you have one of the older BIOS versions you may find this list of legacy command line switches useful.

This client comes as part of any task sequence that you configure however what if you have PCs that have been previously imaged or have an older version of the client?

In this case I prefer to fall back to good old GPO/MSI deployment; Microsoft does have an article on it in Technet http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/gg712298.aspx however its far from descriptive so for a full guide on deploying the System 2012 Config Manager Client see the screen shot sequence below.

The only issue is you now want to move the MSIs to another server or even better are looking to move the MSIs to a DFS share.

The ovious option would be to remove and reassign the software packages pointing them at the new path; the issue here is that the software would then go and reinstall its self on all of your PCs!

A better option is to use ADSI edit to change the paths that already exist without having to reassign the software. The procedure in the screen shot sequence below uses the instructions found at this Microsoft KB – http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2395088.

The great thing about Adobe PDF reader is its very easy to fully customize the installation without having to use Orca.

In this guide I am looking to, deploy Adobe Reader 11 to all of my clients using group policy software deployment, remove older versions of reader, prevent auto update prompts, accept the EULA for my users, remove the desktop shortcut, make Adobe Reader the default PDF viewer and turn off Protected View (I find it causes more issues than it solves).

A few things you will need

1. Adobe Reader deployment resources site (lots of good things to read!) - http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/acrobat/it-resources.html
2. Adobe Customization Wizard – http://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Wizard/index.html
3. Adobe Reader Licence website (you need this to deploy) – http://www.adobe.com/go/rdr_apply_dist/

If you do not want to go through the Customization Wizard phase and are happy with the settings I will be using you can download the transform file from the ZIP file below.

So all thats left now is to follow the screen shots below and get Adobe Reader 11 out to your users!

As such its important to keep Flash updated in your Enterprise. The one pain I’m sure everyone has come across at some stage is your end users getting the prompt to update Flash themselves (see right).

So what I will show you how to accomplish in this guide is

• Obtain and Deploy a MSI for Adobe Flash Player to 32 and 64bit PCs that use Internet Explorer
• Make it so that your users do not get Flash update prompts

A few things you will need

1. A read of the Adobe Flash Enterprise Deployment Guide – http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/articles/flash_player_admin_guide.html
2. A licence to deploy Adobe Flash Player (its the only way to get at a MSI that will work) – http://www.adobe.com/products/players/flash-player-distribution.html
3. Adobe Flash Tester (it will let you know if your deployment has worked or not) – http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

As part of the setup process you will need to copy a mms.cfg file to some locations on your PCs, to make life simple a sample mms.cfg is included in the ZIP file download below along with the paths to where the files need to be copied to (all is explained in the setup guide).

32bit Windows – C:\WINDOWS\System32\Macromed\mms.cfg
64bit Windows – C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\mms.cfg

So lets get this ball rolling! For the steps on how to mash out Flash to your users follow the screen shot sequence below.